Shonky PB1400cs - can't slide out HD ribbon

[Byrd]

Hi,

I picked up an "as is" Powerbook 1400cs/166 from eBay for ~ $25 BIN, untested. It arrived tonight with the specs of stock 16MB RAM/1.3GB HD, floppy drive, and Newertech ethernet adapter in the proprietary "upgrade" slot. Not in bad condition bar some cracking around a screen hinge. If I get it working I'll try to find some RAM for it and get a 'c' TFT panel from powerbookguy (assuming shipping costs are reasonable).

Once plugged in, it fires up immediately, boots to Happy Mac then "bus error". Pulled out the hard disk and can now get it to boot to desktop from CD; seems the HD is definately gone.

I've a spare 10GB HD I'd like to install, but the hard disk ribbon cable seems stuck, it won't slide out from the plastic trim it slides into. The service manual suggests it just slides out a few cm. Any tips on how to slip it out?

Thanks

JB

 

[Bunsen]

How did you get the original HD out?

 

[Byrd]

Well, that would have happened by some good old fashioned yanking it out Then I realised I probably wasn't meant to do it that way; thankfully the HD ribbon is super-tuff and undamaged.

Just got the ribbon out - it was solidly wedged in the plastic surround and I needed to pull it quite firmly and downwards where it popped out. Slid in the 10GB drive and all is good - currently installing 8.5 onto it with nil issues or bus errors.

The Newertech ethernet card looks like a nice solid piece of kit; my last PB1400cs/166 had a Newertech video card which could do dual display but was unbearably slow. I'm also pleased my sitting-in-a-box-for-five-years 12X CD-ROM drives are both running sweet!

JB

 

[LCGuy]

Just a little advice - be CAREFUL with that HDD ribbon! I accidently tore one once a couple of years ago when I was switching HDDs in my 1400 - thank God I had a parts machine to grab a spare from! Either way, hope you enjoy the machine...the 1400 is by far one of my favourite PowerBook models. I've had my 1400c/166 since new, and have it fairly maxed out with 56MB of RAM, a 30GB Hitachi Travelstar, an Apple 8 bit video out card, and a Avaya World Gold card (802.11b, based on the ORiNOCO chipset), quite a good little machine.

 

[Christopher]

Just a little advice - be CAREFUL with that HDD ribbon!

Basically, any ribbon cable.

 

[LCGuy]

Yes, but especially the 1400's HDD cable, as it folds up into the case, and with it being a 12 - 13 year old ribbon cable, they're starting to go a little brittle, and if you flex them too much, well...yeah.

 

[equill]

The ribbon cables in PB1400s and earlier PBs (at least), and the ribbon cables of PB displays, trackballs/trackpads and so on all operate in the same way. The tinned terminals on the ribbon cable contact their corresponding terminals inside the receptacle with room to spare. Firm contact is achieved by a connector-wide wedge-piece that is pushed home firmly after insertion of the cable end. To release a cable needs that you carefully, with either a (very) narrow-bladed screwdriver (jewellers, or equivalent), or preferably with the likes of an IC puller, raise the wedge to loosen the cable in the receptacle. The distance concerned is not more than a millimetre or so. This you do by using the narrow shoulders of the wedge, which protrude over the ends of the receptacle just far enough to be gripped and be useful. Too much force and you break the receptacle, so easy does it. The receptacle is more fragile than the ribbon cable, which is easily removed or inserted when the wedge is raised. When the receptacle is mounted on the MLB, breaking it writes off the whole MLB, because there is no effective repair for one other than by gluing cable and receptacle together with non-conductive silicone cement and the remnants of the wedge.

de

 

[LCGuy]

Actually, the 1400's HDD ribbon uses a 44 pin notebook IDE connector on the logic board side that works in exactly the same way as the 44 pin connector that plugs into the HDD. Other than that though, yes, you are correct...all the other ribbons used in the 1400 are exactly as you describe.

 

[equill]

Thou sayest sooth. I misappreciated Byrd's difficulty. The sideslot accepts the bent ribbon-cable by forcefit, and it is only logical to expect that it can be removed with force. But circumspect force, as has already been observed. In another life I called the process winkling the cable out.

de